Tuesday, September 14, 2010

The New OMD Album 'History Of Modern' Is Pretty Good

I recently reviewed History Of Modern, the new Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark album—their first in 14 years—for an upcoming issue of Instinct. It's not mindblowing right off the bat, but it's a definitely a grower if given the chance. The LP, with its cover designed by Factory Records alum Peter Saville, is out in the States on September 28 via Warner Bros. imprint Bright Antenna.

My friend Becky is going to be so excited—in addition to Pet Shop Boys' "Domino Dancing," we used to request "Dreaming" at all our junior high dances. Now that singer Andy McCluskey has gotten managing hooker troupes like Atomic Kitten out of his system and made nice with Paul Humphreys again, they re-teamed with their "Souvenir"/"Joan Of Arc"-era band members (smart move).

To paraphrase a line from my writeup, tracks like “Green,” “The Right Side?” and the aptly-titled “The Future, The Past And Forever After,” will have you hoping OMD doesn’t take another decade+ off. (The latter sound tres 1990-era PSB, BTW).

Here's the music video for new jam "If You Want It":

Incidentally, while the band's first greatest hits (1988) and 1991 album Sugar Tax were staples of my mid-teen years, their '98 collection The OMD Singles has been steadily rocking my stereo for the past decade.

Paul, yeah, I got that Universal album (the one with "Walking On The Milky Way") on import when I moved to L.A. in '99. I wasn't too smitten with much on it other than that one and the title track. Always loved Sugar Tax, though.